Every-Man's Player
"Can anyone out there tell me why on God's green earth is Mike Curtis not yet in the HOF? I am bias because he was and always will be my favorite player, but over the years I keep seeing linebackers being voted into the HOF who might have posted equal numbers (some less) but none struck fear in the hearts of players and entire offenses the way Curtis did. I remember reading on several occasions years ago that he was every offensive coordinators worst night-mare as they always had to game-plan to run away from him, which was one of the primary reasons he was moved from outside Linebacker to the middle. I think the guy is certainly worthy on his fearsome reputation alone, but despite the fact that he had the misfortune of playing in the same era and Butkis, and Nobis, and others, he was still regarded as one of the very best at his position when he played. Will he ever get in the HOF and get the credit he deserves?"posting by: Softball Fan - BaltimoreSun2.com 8/20/07
"Curtis played with real guts and that takes a lot of heart!" Dr. Wm. Futrell
"Great Linebacker." David Hanson, Thief River Falls, MN - 2000
"I still have a photo I cut out of Sports Illustrated when I was 11 (1971). Ray May, Mike Curtis, Ted Hendricks, coming off the field on a Monday Night Football game, perhaps the best line backing core ever. Hendricks of course is in the HOF, May went on to be captain of the Broncos teams that finally made it to their first Super Bowl. Curtis you know." Colin Peera, IN - 2004
"Back in the early 70's the Baltimore Colts had a linebacker named Mike Curtis. One day, during a game, a fan ran onto the field between plays, picked the ball up from the scrimmage line and started running. Mike Curtis came out of nowhere and just leveled that poor bastard. I'm sure Curtis loosened every tooth in that guy's head and rattled every bone in his body. It was one of the hardest hits I've ever seen on a football field. When the guy regained his senses a few weeks later, he tried to sue Mike Curtis. The case was thrown out of court. That incident is one of my fondest Pro Football memories." mangy-ranger - 2005
"I was a big fan of Mike Curtis (for his play, I was too young to worry about his personality or his politics, jokingly referred to by teammates as being slightly right of Mussolini". Todd S. Phillips - 2005
"Curtis is extremely underrated and should be in the Hall of fame as far as I am concerned. Bart Starr said he was the only player he actually feared but he was not about to cause any serious injuries to an unprotected fan, even if he was stealing the ball." Todd S. Phillips - 2007
"Enjoyable read by one of the all-time great NFL middle-linebackers. Mike Curtis' story is entertaining and funny. Now, THAT was football." Valerie J. Wood
"Bring back Mike Curtis, Lenny Moore, Roger Carr, Bubba Smith and Artie Donovan." Steve, Bel Air, CA 2007
"He has been my hero since I was a little boy in the early 70's." J. Hibbs - 2006
"Curtis was and still is the greatest player I've ever seen. Of course that was when men where men, football was football and athletes were the real thing." Jose Gonzalez, Miami, FL 2007
"Watching Curtis play converted me from an English soccer fan to an NFL fan." Mick Curran, South FL - 2006
"On Mike Curtis: Just think, he graduated as a Phi Beta Kappa from Duke University, a school not known for its football. And yet, Bart Starr said he was "scarier than Butkus." Not a guy I'd mess with. They don't make 'em like him anymore…sadly" Kyle - 2006
Famous Quotes
Redskin linebacker Mike Curtis, who caused the fumble and Buffalo running back Jim Braxton who lost it, agreed completely over the most important aspect of Washington's biggest defensive play today. Braxton never saw Curtis before the Washington linebacker stripped Joe Ferguson's pass from Braxton's grasp at the Redskin 10-yard line early in the fourth quarter. Mark Asner, Reporter, Washington Post - 1977
"Mike Curtis is the best MLB in professional Football. Shuts down run better than any MLB in game… hits everything that moves on the field, including a fan a couple of years ago… is called 'Mad Dog' but not not to his face." Joe Thomas, Colts GM early 1970s
"If Mike Curtis is healthy he's as good an LB as there is in the game." Don Kosleman Rams EVP & GM
"A genuine All-Pro, Curtis has been one of the NFL's premier LBs since his 2nd year in Baltimore and was the MVP in Super Bowl V when the Colts beat Dallas." John Owens, Sports Editor, Seattle
Shuts down run better than any MLB in game ... hits everything that moves on the field, including a fan a couple of years ago ... is called Mad Dog ... but not to his face. The Professional Football Handbook
"The outdoor zoo known as Memorial Stadium, doesn't worry the Rams as much as the middle-linebacker they call 'the animal'. Steve Bisheff, Herald-Examiner LA, 1971
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The Fan's Player
Why is Mike Curtis of the Baltimore Colts not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame? He certainly belongs there. Equally adept against the run or pass, the 6-2, 235lb linebacker used explosive strength, 4.7 speed, good hands (25 career interceptions) and bone-jarring hits to punish offenses from 1965 to 1978. But it was his demeanor and frenzied style of play that made Curtis one of the most physical and intimidating players in NFL history. Curtis should be in the Hall on fame alone. He figured prominently in the NFL's campaign to glorify the violence of the game, and the national press obliged by calling him Mad Dog and Animal and consistently naming him one of the league's meanest and angriest players. Curtis was a Hall of Fame impact player on a championship team. Who can forget the blitzing Curtis leaping onto Roman Gabriel's neck against the Los Angeles Rams in 1968? Between 1968 and 1974, he went to four Pro Bowls and was considered one of the best, if not the best, linebacker in the NFL. Baltimore made two Super Bowls with him at the heart of its defense, and his accomplishments and longevity compare to peers like Willie Lanier, Dave Wilcox, and former teammate Ted "Mad Stork" Hendricks. And Curtis played five more seasons and in two more Super Bowls than Butkus, who played in zero. Who knew? Curtis also compares to and in some ways trumps Lewis, another Baltimore linebacker with image problems. Both men, for instance, provided aggressive and physical leadership. Roommate Bill Curry, the union man who likened Curtis to Mussolini, recognized in the volatile enforcer a "purist – totally dedicated to football and to winning." He embraced the Colts Family and now supports the effort to raise the pensions and medical benefits of retired NFL players. Curtis, like Lewis, was arguably the best player on a great defense. With (Curtis) roaming the turf, in 1968-1971 Baltimore pitched an incredible nine shutouts, including two in the playoffs, and surrendered just 29 points in Super Bowls III and V, losing 16-7 to the Jets and beating the Cowboys 16-13. The Colts allowed just 144 and 140 points over fourteen games in 1968 and 1971, a pace equal to the sixteen game record of 165 set by Lewis' Ravens in 2000. Curtis, like Lewis, excelled in the postseason. He returned a fumble for a touchdown against Minnesota and spearheaded a 34-0 demolition of the Browns in the NFL championship in 1968, a 17-0 spanking of Paul Brown's Bengals in 1970, and another 20-3 pasting of the Browns in 1971. In Super Bowl V, a Colt fumble on the 3rd quarter kickoff gave the ball to the Cowboys deep inside the Red Zone. On the play that changed the game, Curtis was initially knocked backwards at the goaline but recovered to help jar the ball loose from Duane Thomas. Then, deep in the fourth quarter, Curtis set up the winning field goal with a tricky interception off a deflected pass. Inexplicably, the press awarded MVP honors to Chuck Howley of the defeated Cowboys. The New York chapter of the Professional Football Writers of America corrected this groupthink and voted Curtis, like Lewis, Super Bowl MVP. Curtis continued to play hard as the Colts declined, making the Pro Bowl in 1974 despite a 2-12. One wonders if Curtis and a few other Super Bowl veterans cut by Thomas could have helped Bert Jones and the Sack Pack win at least one playoff game in those years. After all, the young Colts had voted him team MVP as recently as 1974, a clear sign of respect. Instead, Curtis was drafted by expansion Seattle in 1976, became a fan favorite, and blocked a last-minute field goal to secure the first-ever victory for the Seahawks. When he retired, Curtis left behind a fearsome reputation and a desire to win that made him a Baltimore icon and one of the most famous, and infamous, men to ever play pro football.
The following quotes are from www.Wikipedia.org and the following selected references: Vince Bagli and Norman Macht, Sundays at 2:00 with the Baltimore Colts (Tidwater, 1995); NFL.com; Paul Zimmerman, New Thinking Man's Guide to Pro Football (Simon & Schuster, 1985); NFL Films, "Mad Dogs and Englishmen", "All the Horses: The 1968 Baltimore Colts"; The 1970 Baltimore Colts"; and "Super Bowl Highlights: Super Bowl V". |
"My God, we put those Seahawks uniforms on for the first time and there I was playing with Mike Curtis. This was the best linebacker I had ever played with, a great guy and a man I continue to be friends with today. The fans loved us, and we loved the fans. We'd go to those Seahawkers (booster club) meetings, not because it was a payday - we didn't even ask to be paid - we went because they were our fans and we wanted to help them out." Bob Lurtsema, Seattle Teammate
"Mike Curtis is going to be the greatest middle linebacker in the game. I've seen him make plays that I thought were humanly impossible." Gino Marchetti, Football Player |
A Players' Player
"Mike was the best outside linebacker I've ever seen, bar none." Bobby Boyd, Defensive Backfield Coach
"He chews the face bars right off his helmet." Billy Ray Smith, Colts Football Player
"If we had 22 Mike Curtis' we could send them to the stadium and tell them to bring back a winner while we sat and watched the game on TV." Don McCafferty, Coach
"You won't see a better middle-linebacking perfor-mance ever." Don McCafferty, Coach
"Mike eats the panes right out of the bus windows on the way to practice." Don McCafferty, Coach
"What more can you say about Mike Curtis he is the complete football player. He's never down for a game. He's the kind of player whos a pleasure to coach." Don McCafferty, Coach
"Fierce tackler with great pursuit." Unknown Football Scout
"When he steps onto the field he leaves his heart on the bench." Unknown Duke Teammate
"Seattle made some excellent choices. They got a good blend of players like Hoaglin, McMillan, Curtis, Geddes that can come in and lead stability." Gil Brandt, VP Personnel Devlp Dallas
"Curtis is scarier than Butkas." Bart Starr, Football Player
A genuine all-pro, Curtis has been one of the NFL's premier linebackers since his second year in Baltimore and was the most valuable player in Super Bowl V when the Colts beat Dallas. John Own, Sports Editor, Seattle
"Metal Mike was my roommate for five years. We started out calling him lron Mike because he was so tough, and then he tore his knee up, so Don Shinnick demoted him to Metal Mike. Then when he lost a lot of weight and came around with a cast on his leg, Shinnick scaled him down to something like Fabric Mike or Cloth Mike, Paper Mike, I think. It ended up with Shinnick calling him Air Mike the last couple of months. He had withered in the cast during that time. Of course, that's not an impression opposing teams had. He was a devastating player. He drove his own players. He'd kick the linemen in front of him, or shove at them to move over, shouting at them. He wasn't the team captain or even the defensive captain, but, in 1970, he stood up in front of the entire team and he said, "I'll make sure that you go all out for the rest of the season because if I ever see anyone who's not giving 100 per cent, I'll beat his ass." We had three games left in the regular season, three in the playoffs, including the Super Bowl, and we won all six. " Bill Curry, Teammate - 1977
"As brilliant as he is on the field he's just as brilliant off the field. More importantly he's one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet." Dr. Wm. Futrell, Duke Teammate
NFL-based media called the Colts "the greatest pro football team of all time".The Colts went into Super Bowl III against the New York Jets as 17-point favorites, with NFL icons like Pro Bowlers Bobby Boyd (db), Mike Curtis (lb), John Mackey (te), Tom Matte (rb), Fred Miller (dl), Earl Morrall (qb), Willie Richardson (wr), and Bob Vogel (ol). After the NFL merged with the AFL in 1970, the Colts went on a rampage, as new head coach Don Mccafferty and a new, improved defense led by Mike Curtis, the Colts won 11 games, took the AFC East Title, in the first round of the NFL Playoffs, they beat the Cincinnati Bengals 21-0, one week later in the AFC Championship, they beat the Oakland Raiders 27-17. Baltimore went on to win the first post-merger Super Bowl (Super Bowl V) against the NFC's Dallas Cowboys 16-13, on a Jim O'Brien field goal, with 5 seconds left to play. Wikipedia.org 2007
Because the core of the team (Seahawks) was so inexperienced, Patera knew he needed some gray-beards with good attitudes to come in and shape the personality of the team in the locker room. Dave Boling, Reporter, The News Tribune - 2000
"They'll win some games. They have more talent than we did with New Orleans. They have guys like Mike Curtis and Ed Bradley who have been with winners." Bill Kilmer -Associated Press Interview 2006
"…I have chronicled the career of 30 great football players….Most of these men should be in the Hall Of Fame. ….Mike Curtis….. (More Distant Memories:Pro Football's Best Ever Players of the '50's, 60's and 70's ISBN 97881425966966)." Danny Jones authorhouse 2007
"On the day of a game, we'd get up and drive over the Memorial Stadium... we'd kind of strut down that ramp into the stadium... I remember the way Mike walked. That was an important part of my own preparation to walk into the stadium with Mike. It was almost as if I could draw on his strength... Just the way he walked helped me get ready to play. When we'd score a touch-down, I'd come off and look for Mike. It was important to me that we win Mike's approval somehow. He'd look at me and he would nod. If I had made a good play - a good block on a screen pass or something, he might even say something. But never much. Bill Curry, Teammate - George Plimpton interview 1977
"Evil Jack, (nickname for Seahawk Head Coach Jack Patera) brought in a couple old veterans like Mike Curtis and myself to maintain a positive attitude. That was part of the leadership role he wanted. You don't bring 11-year veterans to have a negative attitude in the locker room. You needed positive people because he knew there was going to be a lot of bad games and tough times" Bob Lurtsema, Seattle Teammate
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